Arsenal given Giroud hope

Arsenal and Newcastle have been alerted after Montpellier president Louis Nicollin confirmed that first-team stars Olivier Giroud and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa are free to leave the club this summer if they receive a suitable bid.

Both players are currently on international duty with France ahead of Euro 2012 and having guided Montpellier to a first ever Ligue 1 title, are in demand for several of Europe's top sides.

Nicollin, the man credited with inspiring Montpellier's dramatic improvement in fortunes, believes that the pair are the only two who may leave the club this summer.

"The only one who can leave, it's Olivier Giroud, because he has a clause", Nicollin told TV show Stade 2. "Then there is Mapou too, because we promised we would let him go if there was a good offer. But these are the only two who could leave and it is not yet certain that they are going."

Giroud, who has been been heavily linked with a move to Emirates Stadium, finished the season as the top-scorer in Ligue 1 and had been linked with a move to Bayern Munich, until the Bavarians moved to sign Claudio Pizarro earlier this week. Defender Yanga-Mbiwa, meanwhile, is known to be attracting a host of clubs, with Newcastle in the running to land the 23-year-old.